What do you think a possible future employer might do/say if you simply wrote:

"Choose me!!"

In your cover letter?

Is it a good idea? ;)

If you have been with me on this journey of the last few months, you know it has been rather frustrating at times. Well, just over the weekend a lot has happened...and if you know me at all, you knows it's the little things that get me excited...so here you go:

• I have officially signed up to take a French I class!
• In three weeks, I get to go and be a part of an African ministry here in my town with my church...Africans from all over the continent!
• Today I met a girl in my Sunday School class who is applying to the school I taught at in Senegal....and she and I are getting together in week or so to chat about it and Senegal!
  
• I got to use my Swahili today when I met a lady from Kenya. Her face lit up like a light bulb when I told her "asante" (thank you) and then pulled out another phrase or two. :)
• Around Thanksgiving, I get to see my dear friend Scott whom I have not seen for at least 5 years!
• Through my friend Kari's site, I have found a great site that helps you with your vocabulary while also donating rice through the UN toward world hunger...check it out and I challenge you...as of now, I am at 4,100 grains of rice! Free Rice
  
• I have decided (for now) to just find a job here in this area that I can do and get my own place...that will allow me to do French and the African ministry. Though I will probably keep looking for something more along the lines of what I really want to do and where.

Walk with me and listen closely.
This found me grinning from ear to ear.
I will go out of my way to step on crunchy leaves!

God's beauty is seen all around.

My path.

Where I spent my day.

Fall in Iowa.

Relaxing by the riverside.
Soaking up autumn and all its splendor.

Some dear "anonymous" person left the words to this song on my site a couple days back (Anonymous, I would love it if you would reveal yourself!). I went and downloaded it so I could hear it as I fell in love with the words immediately. On Saturday, my friend Becky and I got up early and went out to see some Autumn colors. We didn't hit the peak of the season (it is this week, apparently!)...but it was still lovely...and a wee bit chilly!

But the whole time I was out, I kept thinking of the words to the song....

My Cathedral
by Chris Rice

Sweetest days of childhood,
Playing in the deep woods,
Stomping through the creek
and feeling oh-so-much alive.

We're camping in the forest,
We join the cricket chorus,
Hum our songs of gratitude
around a crackling fire.

Out here in the stillness,
I found my house of worship
with column trees and canopy of stars,
Here in my cathedral.

It was beneath the blue skies,
I ran down to be baptized,
I felt the river wash me clean
and dried beneath the sun.

To this day believing
I'm wide awake or dreaming,
Scan the ancient sky
and understand where I belong.

Cause out here in the stillness,
I find my house of worship
with column trees and canopy of stars,
Here in my cathedral.

This is where I find my soul,
Out where holy men of old
first knelt in soil
and thanked You for the rain.

Wrote the songs that filled the air,
Harold angels sang their prayer,
out beneath
your darling constellations.

Let me off and wander,
Robin song and thunder,
Surrounding me with stained glass leaves
that change with every breeze.

Out here in the stillness,
I find my house of worship
with column trees and canopy of stars,
Here in my cathedral.


Sutcliffe Bridge.
A place of beauty.
And a good reason to wake up early on a Saturday.

Yeah, the team stinks this year.
But still I say, "Go Hawks."
And so does the person who carved this into the bridge.

After the bridge, we drove to the Palisades Park.
Though we didn't hit the peak of the season, it was still beautiful.

Here we are in my cathedral.

October 21st, 1967.
Six week after they met.
Things were different back then!

The whole wedding party and guests!

A few years later.

3 years later the first addition to the family.
A charming little boy, Aaron, who grew up to be grumpy. :)

Through the years.
The Marine Corps Ball.

Then came along another addition.
A darling daughter, Sara.
Who is still a delight.
Unlike her brother. ;)

The young family.

Still happy.
And speaking.

And the addition of a few grandchildren.

40 years later and they are still speaking.
And laughing.
And having fun, most days.
It's just one of those things...
It was meant to be.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

My mom and I watched the movie "Evan Almighty" last night...and I highly recommend it. It is a hilarious movie and there are some real truths to be found therein. But there was one monologue that really caught my attention...

God: Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

You know, I've been thinking a lot about this whole job thing (and the lack thereof!) and I'm just trying to see what God is teaching me through this. The one thing I see most clearly is TRUST. Seems I will never learn that lesson fully, because He keeps giving it to me to learn! Instead of giving me trust, He's giving me the opportunity to trust Him. Trust Him for ends to meet, for my social life, and even for my sanity most days! This was just a good reminder to me...He doesn't always just GIVE us what we ask for, but rather, He gives us the opportunities for it.

Watch the movie. It's a good one. :)

These couple clips are simply too cute not to share. This is the daughter of my friends Josh and Anna...if this doesn't at least make you smile, I don't think anything will. Enjoy!

The past two days have been some of the sweetest in life. My niece and her friend came over last night and after going for a jog, the three of us vegged out with a movie. This morning we got up and got busy right away....for it is a special day

MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY!!!

So we cleaned the house and made a cake. Then we went the pumpkin patch. After that, we met Mom and Dad at the airport with balloons and flowers and all went out to eat before I took the girls home.

Here are just a few shots from the day. These are the sweet days in life that we look back upon and smile at. These are the ones that matter.


Yeah, there are really 61 candles.
(Oops, I mean 29!)

The girls and Gma (aka: The Birthday Girl!)

C & B loving the pumpkin patch.

:)

B and her pumpkin.

Harvest season.

Debating on which one is best.

Our choices have been made.

These are the sweet days of life.

Friends.

I just have to say this one thing....

I LOVE MY FLEECE SHEETS!!!!

Reason number one why I love Iowa:
There was a 20 degree difference between yesterday and today! Yesterday was lovely...in the mid to upper 70's (in the sun). I was looking forward to many more days like that so I could get used to the cooler temps. However, my dear Iowa had a different idea. Today, it only got into the mid-upper 50's!

The problem with this? Well, they are numerous for me...but the primary problem I had this morning was that all of my good "winter" clothes are packed away...including my shoes!! So 8am rolls around and I realize that the only shoes I have out are 1) flops and 2) sneakers. So I frantically ran downstairs to the box I was hoping my shoes were in and found a pair...and at 8:10am, I realized that all I had was white athletic socks to wear with my shoes. Finally, at about 8:17am I got out the door for my 15-20 minute drive to work...where I was supposed to be at 8:30am. Needless to say, Jack didn't get me there in time, but it wasn't his fault.

And when I got to work...I realized I had on brown socks with black shoes. It was an interesting day to say the least. :) But now I'm prepared for tomorrow!

I've been craving poulet yassa (a West African dish made of chicken and rice with a lemony onion sauce...with quite the kick!)...so today I decided to attempt to make it. I called my friend Becky and this evening she had her first taste of poulet yassa and my cravings were satisfied.

It wasn't quite perfect, but pretty close!
Good company and good food. :)

Poulet yassa with Vimto...it doesn't get much better than this!

And for a little something sweet, I pulled out the good stuff for lait chaud (a hot minty milk).

A perfect ending to the evening...sipping lait chaud on a cool autumn evening.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39

As I read through this list of things that can't separate us from Christ I am tempted to add a few of my own...

• not this trial of job hunting
• not this feeling of inadequacy
• not this constant feeling of loneliness
• not this doubt that attacks my mind

Tonight I was reading through Romans 8 and was struck with the truths in that chapter that speak to how much God loves us and the fact that nothing we do or that happens will change that. When we enter into this relationship, it's for life and as a good Father, He knows best...and as I like to say, "God's got it."

God's got this job thing in the palm of His hand and is teaching me through the process. He knows how inadequate I feel due to my situation and speaks love to me through it. He knows how lonely I feel as I'm not connected here and still long for that one person in my life and He walks with me in it. He hears the doubts in my mind and seeks to soothe them with His truth.

Despite my situation and the toll it is taking on me, I've got it good. I have a heavenly Father who is looking out for my best interests...and even when its painful, which it often is, I can still trust Him through it and know that He is leading me this way for His reasons. That's all I need to know. What more could I ever ask? He's good - and in Him is my hope.

I guess if I wanted to make this really quick, I could just say two words:

No news.

I was offered a job in SC, but declined it due to the fact that it was too few hours and I couldn't have made ends meet...regardless of the fact that it was doing what I really would like to do: refugee resettlement. Despite the fact that it was in SC, I was disappointed when I had to turn it down.

At this point, I am constantly job hunting...but only have in 3 applications right now (CO, VA, and DC). I'm still really hoping that CO will work out, simply because it has the most pros, but they don't seem to be moving too quickly, so I can't hold my breath. I have a lead in NC, but am not sure what is going to turn up there.

Honestly, that's about it on the job front. I would appreciate any prayers...it's been over two months and to say that it's a little frustrating is an understatement...even though I am enjoying my family very much. :) Mom and I decided to tackle the basement floor today...that has been quite the adventure and pics will be coming soon. :)

I recently finished the book "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. I really enjoyed this man's style of writing and the depth of the story. However, in it, there was one paragraph that leaped off the page and grabbed my attention. I don't need to say anything else about it...other than I think he's onto something here and he says it so eloquently...

"I slipped the picture back where I had found it. Then I realized something: That last thought had brought no sting with it. Closing Sohrab's door, I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night."

There aren't often exciting things happening in Iowa...however, tonight was a different story. I was popping some corn on the stove before a show came on that my folks and I were going to watch when the cute little weather man took over the channel. Shortly after he took over, the tornado sirens in my town went off...now, some consider me a strange person as I love severe weather. So, as any typical Iowan would, I stepped outside to see if I could see the storm that set the sirens off...to no avail.

Now, the funny thing about these severe weathermen is that they only have a few moments to really shine...and this guy was basking in the excitement with phrases like "tornastic supercells" and "this storm is strung out"...and he went on for over an hour.

Our sirens went off again as we mocked the cute weatherman...but again, it was all for nothing. From what I hear, there is some wind damage and a building is now missing a roof...but other than that, it seems that we have survived this excitement unscathed.

The poor cute weatherman was clearly getting hassled about interrupting our shows as he told us "saving lives is more important than these shows and I will not be persuaded otherwise." He's right, but it's still pretty funny. Iowans don't get too worked up about these storms. :)